Boku (BOKU), the carrier commerce company, saw its adjusted cash profits grow by 17 per cent to $7.4m (£6.2m) in 2019, while a $1.65m tax credit ensured that it booked a maiden reported net profit.
Its payments business performed particularly well, with cash profits having doubled. But the division, which accounts for over 90 per cent of total sales, is still mostly driven by its transaction model. The higher-margin settlement model, which provides technical processing services and is involved directly in the flow of funds, accounts for only a third of sales by chief executive John Prideaux’s estimate.
The group’s identity business, created from the purchase of Danal last January for $25.1m, saw its revenues grow by just over a quarter to $6.7m, but a greater dependence on new business to hit full year expectations means that it is unlikely to perform as strongly as the payments business in 2020 - but it aims to reach a monthly break even in 2021.
The company said that it had seen increases in new users of its payments platform this year, especially for streaming video services and gaming in countries that have been hit hardest by Covid-19.
Broker Peel Hunt forecasts adjusted pre-tax profits of $5.9m and EPS of 1.6ȼ in 2020, compared to $5.8m and 2.4ȼ respectively in 2019.
| BOKU (BOKU) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 72p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 182m | |
| TOUCH: | 68-72p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 149p | LOW: 49p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | na | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 22ȼ* | NET CASH: | $29.6m † | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (ȼ) |
| 2015** | 19.2 | -16.6 | na | na |
| 2016** | 17.2 | -21.2 | -15 | na |
| 2017 | 24.4 | -28.5 | -19 | nil |
| 2018 | 35.3 | -3.0 | -2 | nil |
| 2019 | 50.1 | -1.3 | nil | nil |
| % change | +42 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| £1=$1.20. *Includes $46.8m of intangible assets or 18ȼ a share. **Pre-IPO . † Includes lease liabilities of $3.08m. | ||||
